English teams in Champions Cup showed Premiership still has aura May 6, 2024 For the fourth consecutive Investec Champions Cup final there will be no Premiership side, and for the fourth consecutive final there will instead be representatives from both the multi-national United Rugby Championship and the French Top 14. But is that reason to be gloomy about the English top flight? Not at all. Because in the [...]
Champions Cup: Leinster vs Toulouse is the final we deserve, and want May 6, 2024 So there we have it; seven weekends of Investec Champions Cup action has delivered the final many wanted, and expected. When the final concludes at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on 25 May, it’ll either see French giants Toulouse extend their record of European trophies from five to six, or see Irish stalwarts Leinster move level [...]
Fans vote with feet as Champions Cup semi-final weekend set for bumper attendance May 4, 2024 When Dublin’s Croke Park and Toulouse’s Le Stadium play hosts to this weekend’s Investec Champions Cup semi-finals, it’ll mark a bumper weekend of attendance figures for European rugby’s governing body EPCR. Because the sell-outs across the Irish Sea – for Leinster’s clash with Northampton Saints – and the English Channel – for Toulouse’s tie against [...]
English teams Harlequins and Northampton Saints underdogs in Champions Cup May 3, 2024 Like most people, I will look at this weekend’s Investec Champions Cup fixtures and go on to predict a final between four-time champions Leinster and five-time winners Toulouse. The two clubs are European powerhouses and it would take some upset by either Harlequins across the English Channel or Northampton Saints across the Irish Sea to [...]
Champions Cup final could be bumped from ITV1 to make room for FA Cup April 23, 2024 Broadcaster ITV is facing a scheduling conundrum next month with the FA Cup final and the Champions Cup rugby final set to take place on the same day at the same time. Due to the derby between Manchester United and Manchester City being one requiring heightened security, the kick-off was moved to 3pm. But the [...]
Ollie Phillips: Harlequins play rugby fans deserve to watch April 19, 2024 When I watched Harlequins just about get past Bordeaux last weekend in the Investec Champions Cup, I understood why the south London club get such good crowds week in, week out at both the Stoop and Twickenham. They play a style of game that is just so addictive and attractive, and it is something other [...]
Benetton can silence Italian rugby doomsayers with Challenge Cup run April 16, 2024 Italy has been a focus of rugby discussion for a number of years. While many believe they shouldn’t be afforded the privileges of a tier one country, others think they just need time to succeed. But in Benetton Rugby Italy has a sturdy foundation on which to build. The team formerly known as Benetton Treviso, [...]
Toulouse too good as they book Investec Champions Cup home semi April 14, 2024 A second-half surge saw Toulouse cruise past Exeter Chiefs 64-26 to book themselves a place in the Investec Champions Cup semi-finals today. The French Top 14 side are on the hunt for a record-extending sixth title in the most prestigious club rugby competition in the world. Les Rouge et Noir, as they’re known locally, put [...]
Harlequins to face Toulouse in hope of first Champions Cup final appearance April 14, 2024 If Londoners Harlequins are to reach their first ever Investec Champions Cup final next month they’ll need to do it by beating five-times winners Toulouse in their own back yard. Director of rugby Billy Millard’s men pulled off the shock of the weekend, beating Bordeaux-Begles 42-41 on the Atlantic coast on Sunday, in a match [...]
Gloucester and Ospreys to battle in hope of finding consistency April 12, 2024 If, at the turn of the new year, you thought Gloucester would win one of the three competitions they were competing in, many would have laughed. They were on a rotten run in the Premiership but unbeaten in the domestic and European cup competitions. A season of inconsistency. That has continued, in part, through until [...]